


Phantom Reaper (Being re-written)

by Kelandry5



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Abuse, Action, Akashi Seijuurou & Midorima Shintarou Friendship, Akashi being Akashi, Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Amnesia, Angst, Aomine Daiki Being an Idiot, Assassination, Assassination Attempt(s), Blood, Guns, Kise Ryouta Being an Idiot, M/M, Memory Loss, Nightmares, Organized Crime, Past Child Abuse, Possessive Akashi Seijuurou, Psychological Torture, Secret Identity, Secret Organizations, Spies & Secret Agents, Superhuman, Supernatural Elements, Superpowers, Torture, Undercover, Weapons, Yakuza
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-18 22:36:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9405878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelandry5/pseuds/Kelandry5
Summary: (Previously titled Deadly Shadows) Kuroko is an assassin, the youngest in the organization and has no memories of his life prior to joining. Although his specialty is stealth, his is sent on an undercover mission. His target: the one and only Akashi Seijuro. He has one year to gather information and kill the target. Can he do it? Akakuro as usual.BEING RE-WRITTEN! -Meaning I'm tearing it apart and restarting. Once I write enough, I'll post the rewritten version up!





	1. Target

**Author's Note:**

> Being rewritten!

“Kuroko.” A man in a suit with dark shoulder length hair and grey eyes sitting behind a large desk addressed the small boy standing in front of him.

“Hai.” The small boy, Kuroko, replied with an appropriate bow before straightening to look his boss in the eye.

His boss, Hanamiya, shoved a file folder across the desk. Kuroko picked it up.

“Your next target is Akashi Seijūrō. You will go undercover to get close to him.”

Kuroko picked up the file and flipped to the first page, scanning it briefly. He then looked up at his boss confused. His specialty was stealth not undercover work. He had completed a few undercover missions before, but this was a big target. Surely there were better agents for the job, ones with more experience with undercover missions.

His boss seemed to read his mind and proceeded to explain.

“Your specialty is stealth, so you’re wondering why I am giving you an undercover operation for your next assignment. You are probably also wondering why the due date is so far away, correct?” Hanamiya cocked his head to one side and waited for the bluenette to reply.

“Hai, sir.”

“Stealth alone is not enough to get to this man, not even with your capable abilities. You will need to get close to him and gain his trust first. Your abilities will be put to use to gather information while on assignment. The information we want is detailed in that file. The far off due date is to give you time to infiltrate, earn his trust, and gather the necessary data before killing him.”

“Hai.” Kuroko responded and bowed, preparing to leave.

“And one more thing…” the words rolled off Hanamiya’s tongue like poison. “If you fail, you will be exterminated.” He smirked, sending a shiver down the boys’ spine before shooing Kuroko out.

With a final bow, Kuroko scurried out of the room and shut the door behind him. His face remained emotionless as always. He wasn’t afraid of being exterminated. All things die. It’s not like life held any special value. It was simply his boss’s voice that, for some unknown reason, when it sounded like that, terrified him to the bone. It was perhaps the only time he could recall feeling afraid.

Kuroko made his way down the hall, unnoticed by the others as usual, until he came to the large double doors of the organizations library. He had two days before his mission began. He needed to find out as much as he could and the library was the perfect place to do it.

The organizations library was not a normal library. It held files on past targets and potential future targets, every organization, gang, government, and company that mattered in the world, guides for various things, manuals for weapons and tech, and information texts for what seemed like miles. The only unnecessary items were the porn magazines that some of the agents kept hidden in the corner, although, they weren’t really hidden. Kuroko had no interest in those.

Kuroko had no interest in relationships period. He had little interest in anything except what he needed to be an assassin and complete his missions. Unlike other agents, he wasn’t distracted by desires or emotions, or at least he didn’t think he was. He didn’t have memories of anything before the age of ten when he began training and every memory after that was of training and missions. You might even say he didn’t desire life. It held no real meaning to him. He wasn’t suicidal or anything. He didn’t see a point in death either. He was a robot more or less. He existed to do his job and little else. Except when his boss used that voice and he felt fear. That was perhaps the only time he wasn’t a robot.

He grabbed several files and texts and took a seat in the far corner by the window. It was his favorite seat, especially on sunny days when the sun warmed it up. Unfortunately, it was raining today and the seat was cold, but so was every other seat.

He picked up the first file and started reading, instantly memorizing every detail and fact that he read. Within a few hours, he had already memorized all the files and was gathering some extra useful information about undercover work from some texts. He would have kept reading, except someone was calling his name loudly. Well, it wasn’t that loud, but the man calling his name was only a few feet from him. As usual, he didn’t see Kuroko.

“I’m right here Kise-kun.”

“AHHHHHHHHH! Kurokocchi! Don’t scare me like that.” Kise calmed himself after nearly having a heart attack over his self-proclaimed friend’s sudden appearance.

“This is a library, idiot!” Aomine wacked Kise with his hand.

Aomine and Kise were fellow agents Kuroko had worked with before. He didn’t mind Aomine too much, but Kise was loud and obnoxious.

“And don’t suddenly appear like that Tetsu.” Aomine scolded Kuroko as well.

“I did not suddenly appear.” Kuroko deadpanned. “What are you two doing here?”

“Looking for you Kurokocchi! Isn’t that obvious?”

“But why? I’m quite busy.”

“Boss didn’t tell you? We’re working together on the next mission.” Aomine said as he took one of the files from Kuroko’s finished reading stack. “I see you already started. Typical. You just got back from your last mission. Don’t you ever take a break?”

“And do what?”

“I don’t know? Fun stuff? Sleep?”

“I sleep at night and we are too old for ‘fun stuff’ Aomine-kun.”

“If I recall, you’re only 16. You’re the youngest agent here and stiffer than old Amar!”

“And you are 20 and act like a child Aomine-kun.” Kuroko retorted. “Surely you did not pester me just to comment about my day time activities.”

“See. Stiff. It’s all about business with you.”

“Aomine.” Kuroko threatened, although his face and tone of voice didn’t send off any danger signals, the lack of honorifics was something he only used when he was threatening. That and Aomine swore there was an evil aura surrounding the blue haired boy.

“Okay, okay. Sheesh Tetsu. Momoi has some information for us and Riko wants us in the fourth training room after dinner.”

“The new equipment must have arrived.” Kuroko’s evil aura disappeared (according to Aomine) and he stood up. He didn’t bother putting his materials back as a librarian would take care of that. He headed out of the library and towards the elevator with Aomine dragging his feet behind him and Kise following while half skipping.

The elevator ride to the fifth floor was quiet. When they arrived, a girl with pink hair, Momoi, was already waiting for them.

“Hey guys! Come with me. I have some info I think you will find useful.” Momoi announced as soon as they stepped off the elevator.

“Couldn’t we have done this tomorrow? I was enjoying my day off.” Aomine complained as they followed Momoi.

“Stop being lazy Aominicchi!” Kise scolded.

“Sorry Dai-chan.” Momoi replied.

The four of them entered a room with multiple computers and monitors and were greeted by the familiar information team.  Momoi led them to her desk at the far end of the room. It was the largest since she was the head of the team. They took their seats and Aomine and Kise were each given a file full of documents. The screen behind the desk turned on to display the documents as well.

“I assume you don’t need a copy.” Momoi was speaking to Kuroko. The bluenette nodded.

“I should be able to memorize this much easily.”

“Show off.” Aomine muttered under his breath.

Momoi briefed them on the new information gathered on the target and the specifics that weren’t covered in the original assignment file before sending them off. Next they went to the first basement floor to visit Riko, one of the weapons trainers.

“Hey boys!” The brunette, Riko called out. She was standing to the side of the room by a table in the otherwise empty room.

“What’s up?” Aomine waved.

“Rikocchi!” Kise shouted enthusiastically.

The only one who remained silent was Kuroko.

The three stepped up to the table and looked at the items displayed.

“What are these?” Aomine picked up a black semi-round object smaller that a pea.

“The new hidden cameras!” Riko boasted. “but that’s not the best part of the new equipment!” Riko grinned as she picked up a small gun.

“We get new guns?” Kise asked curiously as he examined the watch.

“It’s not JUST a gun!”

“What about the pen?” Kuroko asked, his eyes seemingly searching for something.

“Oh.” Riko looked a little disappointed. She pulled out a slick black pen from her pocket. “You mean this?”

“Hai.”

“What’s so special about the pen Tetsu?”

“Rikocchi! What about the gun!”

“Ugh. One at a time. Here.” She handed Kuroko the pen. Kuroko took it with an almost unnoticeable smile.

“Thank you Riko-kun.”

“What’s it do Tetsu?”

“Nothing you need to know Aomine-kun.” Kuroko placed the pen in his own pocket as Riko handed them each a new gun.

“Now back to the gun.”

“You’re too excited Riko.” Aomine commented.

“But! Just follow me!” Riko huffed and walked to the center of the room. She pressed a button on a remote and the floor opened up. Several ‘targets’ rose. “Watch this!” She pulled out the gun and shot it. It was silent, even without a silencer attached. Even when it hit the target it barely made a sound.

“So it’s like a super silent gun?” Kise walked to the center and tried it. Just like the previous shot, it was silent.

“Yes. But that’s not all!” Riko handed her gun to Kise. “Shoot.”

Kise gave her a confused look, but did as he was told….at least he tried to. The gun wouldn’t shoot.

“I can’t..” Kise whined and Riko looked like a kid in the candy store.

“It’s awesome right! Your guns have each been pre-programed. If someone else gets a hold of it, they won’t be able to use it. It’s super silent, smaller that your other ones without sacrificing range, and you are the only one that can use it!”

“I guess that’s cool.” Aomine shrugged and turned back to the cameras. He looked around suddenly and realized Kuroko had disappeared. “Oi! Where did Kuroko go?”

Kise and Riko, who had started chatting, looked up and shrugged. At that moment, a bell rang.

“Dinner time! Sorry Riko, but we gotta go!” Kise shouted excitedly.

“Alright. Don’t forget your new toys.” Riko smiled and waved them off.

Aomine and Kise grabbed their new equipment and headed off to the cafeteria.


	2. Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments/reviews would be very very much appreciated. I'm pretty sure where I'm going with this now btw so thank you to those who helped.
> 
> This chapter is short which is weird because the first chapter was long and usually my first chapters are super short but uh, the next one will be longer.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Kuroko ate in the corner of the cafeteria alone as usual before going back to his boss’s office. There was something bothering him about his upcoming assignment.

He scanned his thumb and announced his name into the little microphone on the side of the door before being able to enter the office.

Hanamiya looked at the open door confused and searching till he spotted Kuroko already standing in front of his desk. He was used to such “sudden appearances” enough that he didn’t jump but it still made him uneasy.

“Sorry to intrude sir. I have a question about my upcoming assignment.” Kuroko bowed. Hanamiya’s eyes narrowed dangerously and Kuroko gulped.

“A question you say? And what would that be?”

“I think there is a mistake. My alias is my real name and it says I’m 21. I….I don’t think anyone is going to believe that.”

If looks could kill, Kuroko might be dead already. Hanamiya didn’t like being questioned and Kuroko had made the mistake of insinuating Hanamiya gave him a less than perfect file. Yes, Hanamiya was at fault for not explaining the missing detail earlier, but he wouldn’t see it that way and he didn’t.

The first object thrown at Kuroko, the bluenette was able to dodge. He wasn’t so lucky the second time. The stapler hit his head but he didn’t flinch. That would only make the boss angrier. He remained expressionless and waited.

Hanamiya, satisfied that he got a hit in, calmed down. “It’s not a mistake. You will do well to remember I don’t make mistakes, you piece of shit.” He snarled making Kuroko flinch, but only internally. He would never show it. “Using your name makes no difference since, until now, Kuroko Tetsuya did not exist. As for your age, they don’t need to believe it. Didn’t you read your background history moron?”

“It’s not in here sir.” Kuroko whispered and braced himself for another object to come flying at him. Luckily, nothing came.

“Momoi was supposed to give it to you.” Hanamiya spat in clear annoyance. He pressed a button on the phone and Momoi’s cheery voice greeted him.

“Hello boss! How may I help you!?”

“Ugh. Is everyone here an idiot? You forgot to give Kuroko his background information. Deliver it to him before midnight or I’ll make your life a living hell!” Hanamiya cursed under his breath and hung up before Momoi could respond. Kuroko said a small prayer for the girl.

“Anything else?” The boss growled.

“Actually…” Kuroko let his sentence trail off uncertain if he should actually continue.

“Spit it out boy!”

“It’s just, I was thinking, it’s rare to have a double assignment. Usually assignments are either for spying or assassination. If both are required, aren’t they usually carried out separately? I was just wondering why this is a double….” He stopped short as he realized another word could very well mean his death. Apparently he should not have continued speaking.

“Are you quite done or were you looking for further punishment?” His boss snarled impatiently as he reached for something in the desk drawer. Kuroko shook his head. He should have known better to ask questions in the first place.

“No sir. I was out of line. My apologies.”

“Then get out. And remember, failure will not be tolerated.” Hanamiya’s eyes narrowed and Kuroko nodded and left as quickly as he could without looking like he was desperate to leave.

He headed to the 6th floor, unnoticed, where the in-house agents sleeping quarters were and pressed his thumb to the panel outside his door. It scanned and the door opened.

It was a small room and there was little in the way of personal items. There was a bed in the far right corner with a small closet across from it and a small four drawer dresser beside it. The bathroom door was on the other side of the dresser. His desk sat at the end of his bed and a ceiling to floor bookshelf stood beside the desk. The bottom two shelves held the only personal, non-work items that he owned which were mostly novels and a single stuffed bear that he thought was important but couldn’t remember why. The walls and floor were cold grey metal that always made him shiver.

He stepped inside and went straight to his closet where the hidden safe was. Opening the safe in a similar way as the door only with an added retina scan, voice detector, and passcode, he placed his new weapons inside and locked it back up. It was only 7:58 so he decided to go down to the training courts for some practice and returned around 11 PM. Momoi was waiting for him outside his room.

“I brought the papers. I’m so sorry…is that…is that my fault…” She pointed to the bruise forming on Kuroko’s head. He shook his head and accepted the papers with a small bow. He said nothing, but entered his room and left Momoi in the hall to stare after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, his boss is a jerk to put it mildly


	3. Alias

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So chapter 3.   
> Unlike usual, I'm actually starting this fic out a bit slow instead of jumping right into the mess. Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts about this even though not much has happened yet!

Kuroko took a seat at his desk and began to memorize the details of his new alias while going over his assignment again as well. In a little more than 24 hours, he would present himself to his target, Akashi Seijūrō, as a new bodyguard. Kuroko’s alias was from Tokyo and the illegitimate son of one of Akashi’s personal body guards, Kawamura Haruto, who had recently died (courtesy of the organization) and had no legitimate children. _Kuroko_ (the alias) was trained and hiring him to take over the position would keep it in the family, despite being illegitimate, which apparently was a tradition.

The rest of the details held little importance. Of course, Kuroko still memorized them. He had to know everything about this Kuroko Tetsuya, illegitimate son of a body guard for Akashi Seijuro. _Kuroko Tetsuya_ is a 21 year old with an average life raised by a single mother, Miwa Sakura, a worker in a Casino run by Akashi’s group, and his maternal grandfather, Miwa Hiroto. He got average grades in school and was the typical student for the most part. The only exception was his training in weapons and martial arts which he excelled at. In truth, this would be the easiest alias he ever had to assume because it was almost him, except the real Kuroko Tetsuya knew a lot more fighting styles, trained with far more weapons, and knew nothing of parents, or any type of family, or affection and love. The real Kuroko Tetsuya was also six years younger.

By 1 A.M., Kuroko had everything memorized and settled in for a dreamless sleep.

“Oi! Tetsu!” Aomine pounded on Kuroko’s door while the latter was still trying to tame his hair without success. He gave up and opened the door before those in the rooms nearby could complain.

“You are being too loud Aomine-kun.” Kuroko stated with a deadpanned expression as usual.

“I told you so!” Kise wailed loudly.

“You too Kise-kun.” Kuroko added. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

Kuroko closed the door to grab his meal card and jacket before returning to the other two agents. The three then headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

“So are you ready for tomorrow Kurokocchi!?” Kise smiled as he sat down across the bluenette at one of the tables. Aomine took a seat beside the blond.

“Yes, Kise-kun.”

“What are your plans for today?” Aomine interrupted curiously.

“Training.”

“You’re no fun Kurokocchi!!”

“It’s called a job and responsibility, Kise-kun.”

“It’s called you’re 15 so live a little Tetsu.” Aomine grunted as he took a bite of his toast. “It’s burnt again.” He added with a scowl.

“It’s charred, Aomine-kun. There is a difference.”

“Kurokocchi! Aominicchi! Don’t just ignore me!”

“You are giving me a headache Kise-kun.”

“Stop whining Kise!”

Kuroko slipped away as Aomine started throwing charred toast at Kise and Kise kept throwing it back. It was too early for such commotion. He spent the rest of the day training and packing and settled in for an early night.

Day 1

Kise and Aomine were to pose as Kuroko’s roommates and friends while running support and background operations for the mission.

The three agents arrived at the apartment, which would serve as their base of operations, at 6 A.M. It was furnished with the basics and within an hour, Kise managed to decorate it with various items so it looked like it actually belonged to three young adults. Aomine focused on unpacking his things and setting up the technical equipment and Kuroko busied himself with checking weapons and personal gear. He only had a few clothes and toiletries to unpack.

“Yo, Tetsu.” Aomine called from the entrance to Kuroko’s room. Kuroko kept his focus on the knife he was sharpening.

“Yes Aomine-kun?”

“Your room is the only part of this apartment that looks vacant. It kind of looks suspicious.”

“I didn’t have anything to bring, Aomine-kun.”

“Tcht. You really are something. You didn’t have a single personal item?” Aomine crossed his arms with a scowl as he leaned against the doorframe. Kuroko finally paused his work to look up at the tanner male with an expressionless face.

“My toothbrush is in the bathroom.” He said with all seriousness.

“KISE! COME DECORATE TETSU’S ROOM!” Aomine called over his shoulder to the blond in the kitchen. Kuroko groaned as Kise appeared in the doorway with a huge grin. It dropped as he looked around the room.

“There’s nothing in here Kurokocchi? Even poor 21 year olds would have more than this in their apartments!”

Kuroko shrugged disinterested.

“At least throw a pair of socks on the floor Tetsu.”

“I don’t think they care about my room, Aomine, Kise.” Kuroko dropped the honorifics getting annoyed. It was a room. It looked the same as his room at the agency.

He threw two of the knives to Kise and Aomine that he had finished already. Despite appearing off guard, the blond and darker bluenette caught them with ease and Kuroko calmed down a bit. He didn’t like obsessing over trivial things like decorations, but the way the three handled the knives with practiced ease was familiar and reassuring.

“Wait….what about your books Tetsu?” Aomine frowned remembering the books in Kuroko’s room at the agency. Kuroko paled.

“I….I forgot….” He muttered almost inaudibly. The other two agents stared at him for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter.

“Kurokocchi….You’re face!!”

“That’s hilarious, Tetsu!”

“I really don’t see what is so funny.” Kuroko pouted. The other two straightened up and tried to catch their breath.

“Sorry, Kurokocchi. I’ll buy you some new ones while you’re gone today.”

“Thank you Kise-kun.” Kuroko remained expressionless as ever, but Kise had known him long enough to catch the small smile of gratitude in those sky blue eyes and beamed like a five year old receiving praise.

“Go work on the plans with Aominicchi for a while and I’ll fix your room, Okay.” The blond eagerly pushed the two blue haired agents out of the room. They both nodded and went to the kitchen to go over some schematics and operation codes.

Twelve minutes later exactly, Kise bounced excitedly into the kitchen with a silly grin.

“Your room is all fixed Kurokocchi!” He squealed excitedly and dragged the uninterested bluenette back to the bedroom.

Kuroko sighed in relief. It wasn’t that different from before. Kise hadn’t gone overboard. There was a picture frame of him, Aomine, Kise, and a few other agents from the agencies sports day (yes, even shady agencies can have fun days) sitting on the dresser and a small house plant by the window with blue flowers. Some various office supplies sat out on the desk and a backpack Kuroko recognized as one of Kise’s was slung over the back of the desk chair. There was also a small table mirror and some sports magazines that probably belonged to Aomine on the bookshelf.

“Thank you for not going crazy.” Kuroko bowed slightly to the blond who immediately tried to hug him, but Kuroko dodged as usual.

“I’ll add more later, but I promise to keep it tame.”

“Yeah. Go to crazy and no one will believe it belongs to a stiff like Tetsu.” Aomine teased from behind them and Kuroko jabbed him in the ribs.

“You better get ready Kurokocchi. Isn’t someone supposed to be picking you up and 8:45?”

Kuroko nodded and grabbed what he needed. “Uh, I’ll be back later?” Kuroko offered before stepping out the door. It was awkward but he felt he was supposed to say something and that happened to be the best he could come up with.

He left the building and walked towards a black car with two men in black suits standing in front of it. They didn’t notice him even when stood right in front of the taller of the two.

“Excuse me.” He said loud enough for them to hear. They were well trained he thought when they didn’t jump or scream, although they were clearly surprised. “I’m Kuroko Tetsuya.” He continued after giving the two men time to process his presence. Both pairs of eyes squinted and the one directly in front of him raised an eyebrow. Clearly, they didn’t believe Kuroko. They were probably expecting someone taller and bigger like themselves or at least someone with more presence. Sighing inwardly, he pulled out _his ID_ and handed it over. The first man took it and passed it to the other who glanced back and forth between the card and the bluenette before nodding and returning the ID to Kuroko.

“My apologies. I’m Santo and this is Gengi.” He introduced himself and the slightly shorter man, although bother were a good bit taller than Kuroko. “We will be taking you to meet the boss. Please step inside and watch your head.” Santo continued as he opened the car door.

Kuroko nodded and climbed into the backseat without another word. Santo and Gengi climbed in the front seats and the car began to move.


	4. Tests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: to join the largest yakuza group in Japan, passing a written test is actually required, although it focuses mainly on law. So that was my reason for adding that in here.
> 
> Please comment/review/tell me what you think!!! I really appreciate it!!

The car stopped in front of a high end skyscraper and Kuroko was led inside. The three men stepped into the elevator and rode it to the second basement floor.

“There are a few tests you will be required to pass before you meet the boss.” Santo explained on the way down. He hadn’t been told anything about any tests but he didn’t mention it.

“The first will be written test. The second will be a firearms test. Third will be a hand to hand combat test and the fourth will be a parkour test if you even make it that far. If you pass all of them, you will be initiated tonight. Do you understand?” Gengi explained as they reached the basement and stepped off. Kuroko nodded and they entered a room with a table and chair. A paper packet and pencil were on the table.

“The first test?” Kuroko asked for confirmation.

Santo nodded. “You will have one hour to complete the test. It begins now.” He warned as he clicked a button on his watch.

Kuroko nodded without protest and took his seat.

The first test was rather simple. Subjects included politics, law, math, Japanese, English, weapon knowledge, and strategy. Kuroko finished it in 40 minutes. Afterwards, Genji handed him a set of workout clothes for him to change into. The second test was pretty basic as well. It started with shooting stationary targets and progressed to moving targets. The targets continued to speed up until a shot was missed and the test would end. Kuroko made it to round six. It wasn’t impressive in his mind, but it was still good.

For the third test, Kuroko had to face off against Santo and then Gengi. In truth, hand to hand combat was one of his weaknesses since he was so small. He usually used knives or other small weapons. He managed to bring Santo down surprisingly enough, but after a long fight, he lost to Genji. It didn’t cause him to fail though since apparently he wasn’t required to win. He just had to display adequate skills. Too bad they didn’t tell him that first. He had pulled a few tricks he would have liked to keep hidden just to win the first round.

The parkour course was a challenge since Kuroko never had an abundance of stamina. He managed to get a good time but nearly collapsed afterwards.

“You okay kid?!” Gengi checked as he caught Kuroko before the latter could fall.

“Hai.” Kuroko pulled away and fixed his attire. “I am fine.”

“Take a moment to rest. Here.” Santo offered him a water bottle which he gratefully accepted. “Once you’re ready, I will show you to the showers and you can clean up.”

“I passed?”

“With flying colors!” Genji informed excitedly. Kuroko smiled; well it was sort of a smile. It was probably undetectable to the two men, but it was a smile. He hadn’t felt like he had done very well on the tests at all. The written portion was easy enough, but he was sure his results on the others were lacking, especially the hand to hand combat test. Had he failed to take down an opponent at the organization, his boss would have likely thrown multiple objects at him or worse. Just the thought sent a shiver down his spine. Things were definitely different here. He certainly wasn’t going to complain if nothing was thrown at him though. That would just be stupid.

After finishing his water, he stood up ready to take a shower. A sudden realization dawned on him though.

“Ano….I don’t have any soap….”

“Haha. Don’t worry kid. We got you covered. Come on.” Santo gestured for Kuroko to follow. “The showers are this way. Genji.” He looked over his shoulder at the other man. “Go inform the boss we will be up soon.”

“Hai.”

Kuroko took his shower quickly and changed into the suit he has worn that morning. It consisted of black slacks, a black tie, a gray button up shirt, and a black coat. After doing the best he could to make his hair presentable he was led back to the elevator and rode to the 36th floor. Genji gestured for Kuroko to step out and told him to go to the third door on the left before the elevator closed and Kuroko was left alone.

_Here goes nothing._ He thought as he knocked on the door. As a voice invited him in, he felt his exhaustion sinking in and had to take a deep breath to clear his mind. Unmasking his presence as much as he could, he opened the door.

Sitting behind a large cherry wood desk was a man with red hair and mismatched eyes. He wore black slacks and a red button up shirt with a black tie and his jacket thrown over the back of his chair. The aura radiating off the man would bring most people’s brains to a complete halt, but Kuroko was hardly fazed. On the desk was a nameplate that read Akashi Seijūrō.

“Good afternoon Kuroko Tetsuya.” Akashi greeted in a low authoritative tone. Kuroko bowed deeply with a murmured good afternoon in return. When he straightened, the red head was standing in front of him analyzing and scrutinizing every inch of him. Again, most people would have frozen on the spot, but Kuroko just stared into the mismatched eyes of his new boss with a blank expression.

Akashi noted each and every detail about the man in front of him. Actually, he was sure this ‘man’ was still a ‘boy’ but he decided not to bring it up. Clearly, the boy was quite capable if his results on the earlier tests and observations were anything to go by. Akashi had been secretly watching and noticed the boy hadn’t even been going full out much of the time. He wondered why, but he wasn’t going to question that yet either.

He knew this boy might very well be better than some of Akashi’s veteran staff, but amusingly enough, to the naked eye he looked weak. He was short and scrawny with a small structure. Not only that, but he barely had any presence. Unlike the other strong subordinates, Kuroko Tetsuya did not appear intimidating in the slightest. He didn’t give off that aura like other veteran fighters. He didn’t give off much of an aura period. Kuroko Tetsuya was like a ghost.

Once he was finished analyzing the blue haired boy in front of him, Akashi took a step back and nodded in approval. “Excellent.”

“Sir?” Kuroko wasn’t sure what was so excellent. He didn’t get an answer though.

Akashi chuckled and passed the bluenette to open the door. “Come. The initiation is starting soon.” He ordered and led the way out of the office and to the elevator. After stepping inside, he spoke again. “As I am sure you know, you will be working as one of my personal guards. Santo will return you to your apartment after the initiation. I expect you to rest well and be present in my office tomorrow morning at 8 A.M.” Akashi paused as they stepped of the elevator onto the 15th floor. “You will be further informed on the particulars of your job then and supply you with anything you may need.”

Akashi looked behind indicating he was done and Kuroko should respond. The bluenette confirmed and the two walked in to a room where several other suits were gathered. The only ones gathered for the initiation were Akashi’s top men.

When the two entered, all the previous chatter ceased and the bodies parted to clear a path to the end of the room where the groups emblem hung on the wall. A table with two cups and a sake bottle was just in front of the emblem. Akashi and Kuroko stood just in front of the table and one of the men poured the sake into the cups. Once the cups were poured, Akashi and Kuroko took their respective glasses and swallowed a sip before exchanging glasses and taking another sip. The room burst into a polite applause afterwards and the other men gathered around Kuroko and welcomed him. Akashi stood back to observe and noted with amusement and curiosity how Kuroko seemed completely unfazed by the entire ordeal. That blank expression seemed permanently painted on the boys face, something Akashi planned to change if for no other reason than it seemed like it could be an amusing challenge. However, even if Kuroko’s face remained emotionless, Akashi didn’t miss how the boy seemed tense with all the welcoming gestures he received. That, too, piqued Akashi’s curiosity. As the initiation ended and Santo guided Kuroko out, Akashi was sure of one thing. Daily life was about to get very interesting with that kid among their ranks. Not only that, but he was somewhat excited at the new challenges the boy offered. Breaking that mask and discovering his secrets were something Akashi was looking forward to.

When Kuroko arrived at his apartment that night, he wanted nothing more than to collapse on his bed and sleep. Seriously. Keeping his abilities in check and making himself _be_ visible all day took a lot of effort and then there were all those tests. He was a person who lived and worked in the shadows. Living and working in the light was draining. He wasn’t a social person either and found social situations tired him out. In other words, his day was completely and utterly exhausting.

Too bad his roommates were Kise and Daiki. Kuroko unlocked the door and stepped into the apartment. He took off his shoes in the enteryway and made his way to the kitchen where he could smell dinner cooking. The first thing he noticed was Kise had been to the store. He could actually believe normal people lived in the apartment now. At least, this is what he assumed a normal apartment owned by three normal twenty something year olds would look. He didn’t actually have any way of confirming it.

About to leave for his bedroom (sleep sounded more interesting than food at the moment), Kise bumped into him and finally noticed he was back with a shriek.

“WAHHH!!!! Kurokocchi! How long have you been there?”

“A few minutes Kise-kun. Please don’t yell so loudly.”

“I’m sorry! You just scared me is all.”

“Oi! What’s with the racket!?” Aomine appeared in the doorway as his eyes scanned the room before noticing Kuroko. “Oh, welcome back Tetsu.”

“Tadaima.” Kuroko replied with a small polite nod of the head.

“Kurokocchi, could you set the table please.” Kise pleaded as he went to check on one of the pots on the stove. Kuroko sighed and grabbed some napkins and chopsticks. He really just wanted to sleep.

“So how did it go?” Aomine asked as he helped Kise load three plates with the curry and rice.

“Fine.” Kuroko responded, accepting a plate. The three took their seats and said their thanks for the food before digging in.

“So, do you think it will be hard?” Kise questioned between mouthfuls. Kuroko shrugged. Sensing the bluenette didn’t want to talk anymore, Aomine and Kise let him be.

After finishing about half his plate, he set it on the counter and slipped away into his room. He wasn’t surprised to find a few more items in his room, but it was still pretty barren. The main difference was the two shelves with books lined up on them. He smiled inwardly and made a mental note to thank Kise later. The other main difference was the presence of various office supplies on his desk neatly arranged. There was also a light blue rug beside the bed.

Kuroko changed into a pair of sweat pants and a white T-shirt before crawling under the covers. He checked his phone for messages and when he found none he set it aside and fell asleep almost instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I went with Akashi being basically Yakuza. He has both legal and illegal businesses. Kuroko will be his body guard. There don't seem to be many fics with them playing these roles if any, unlike CEO and butler. I might make another story with the CEO and butler one though. But that will be later.


	5. Frustrations

Kuroko woke at 6:45 and stumbled into the kitchen.

“Morning.” He greeted Kise who was already up. He was trying to warn Kise he was there so the blond wouldn’t scream…but it didn’t work.

“Ahhhhh!.....oh…it’s just you Kurokocchi. Don’t scare me like that!”

“I was trying to avoid scaring you….” He sighed. “Thank you for the books in my room.”

Kise hugged him with a bright smile, overjoyed that he had gotten a thank you from the smaller agent. “You’re welcome! I hope you like them! I bought a bunch of different ones since I wasn’t sure what you liked and didn’t like. I put a few other things in there too, although it still looks empty if you ask..”

“Enough please. It’s too early.” Kuroko pushed the overexcited blond away. “I need to get ready. Don’t forget to report to headquarters please.” He reminded before stumbling back to his room to prepare for the day. Checking that he had all of his weapons and his suit and hair was presentable, he slipped out and made his way to the train station.

It was only 7:40 when he arrived in front of Akashi’s office door, but he knocked anyway. His new boss’s voice invited him in immediately.

“Tetsuya, you’re early.” Akashi commented in a disinterested tone without even looking up. Kuroko wondered how Akashi knew it was him, but he didn’t ask.

“My apologies Akashi-sama.”

“Better early than late. Speaking of which, tardiness will be punished severely. I don’t think you will have to worry about that though.”

“Yes, Akashi-sama.” Kuroko bowed slightly. He wasn’t worried. Arriving early was something that was beaten into him long ago.

“Very good.” The red head replied still not having looked up from his work even once. “Would you like some coffee or a snack?” He offered.

Kuroko declined saying he wasn’t thirsty or hungry. He was pretty sure it was a formality or a trick, not a real offer. Hanamiya would sometimes offer things like that as well, but accepting usually led to punishment. Why would things be any different here? However, to his embarrassment, his stomach grumbled softly. He had been too preoccupied to remember breakfast this morning and was now regretting it.

Akashi finally raised his head and eyed the boy carefully. Obviously the kid was lying. He pulled a granola bar from his desk drawer and threw it to the bluenette who caught it and stared at it suspiciously.

“Ano, what’s this for Akashi-sama?” Kuroko asked unsure what to do now. Maybe he was supposed to eat it, but maybe Akashi was testing his reflexes. He couldn’t be sure. Maybe Akashi just wanted him to open it for him.

“It’s for you.”

Kuroko looked from the bar to Akashi to the bar and back to Akashi. “What am I supposed to do with it?” He asked not wanting to make a mistake before the first day of the job even officially began.

“It’s food. You eat it.” Akashi stated with a hint of amusement lacing his voice and dancing in his eyes. 

Kuroko nodded and opened the wrapper. After taking a hesitant nibble, he returned his gaze to his boss and searched for signs that something was about to be thrown. Akashi was no longer looking at him though and had returned to his work. He lost himself in thought as he continued nibbling.

Apparently things were different here. That could be a problem. He didn’t want his behavior to raise suspicions, but he was only acting how he had been taught.

Seriously, why did he have to get an undercover assignment? He wasn’t good at this undercover work and he was making too many mistakes. In the shadows, he was the best in the agency. In the light, he was hardly better than a D class agent (second lowest class; Highest class is S). There were plenty of agents better suited for this job. Kuroko understood why even his abilities when it came to stealth might not be enough. At least in his normal state, Akashi was more aware of him than anyone he had ever met. Kuroko hadn’t actually tried to use his special abilities around Akashi though, but he had a feeling they might not work either, at least not as well they would on anyone else. So not using stealth tactics alone made sense, but picking him for an undercover assignment did not. Neither did combining both spy work and an assassination into one mission carried out by a single agent when normally they were separate and handled separately by the Intelligence Division and Assassination Division respectively. Was Hanamiya playing with him? Was this some kind of joke?

“Tetsuya?” Akashi waved his hand in front of the bluenettes face trying to pull him back from whatever lala land he had slipped into. It worked. Tetsuya’s eyes refocused and he internally flinched at the realization that Akashi was now in front of him. At least the red head looked amused and not furious.

“My apologies Akashi-sama. Did you say something?” He asked as he bowed humbly and mentally chastised himself for yet another mistake.

Akashi raised an eye brow before stepping aside so Kuroko could see the person who entered while he was lost in his thoughts. “I would like you to meet Honda-san. He will be teaching you the ropes today. I would do it myself, but I have a full schedule today.” He finished and went to his desk leaving Honda and Kuroko by the door.

“Good morning, Honda-san. I’m Kuroko Tetsuya. It appears I am in your care for today.” Kuroko responded with another small bow.

Honda-san nodded. “Please follow me Kuroko-san.” He instructed as he opened the door. Kuroko followed him.

On another floor, Honda-san gave him various equipment. There was a cell phone, which he was required to keep on his person at all times, a Bluetooth device, and a few other random pieces. Since Kuroko already had his own weapons and holsters, Honda-san merely inspected them. Of course, all of them were sufficient if not more than.

With equipment taken care of, Honda-san began to explain the rules. Kuroko only half listened as he already knew most of the rules.

“So do you have any questions?” Honda-san asked after the explanations were over.

Kuroko shook his head. “I was trained to take over my father’s position most of my life.”

“It’s hard to believe your Kawamura’s son.” Honda-san shook his head.

“Illegitimate.” The bluenette reminded and Honda-san nodded.

“You’re still his son. Never forget that. Your father was a proud and dedicated man. His death was a great loss to all of us.”

Kuroko only nodded. He didn’t feel anything of course. He wasn’t actually related to him. He didn’t know him. Kawamura was just a man killed for the sake of the mission and luckily, Honda-san didn’t seem bothered by his lack of expression since Kuroko had been expressionless and unreadable since they met.

Honda-san shook his head as if dispelling his sorrow and turned. “Let’s go meet your coworkers.”

“Please wait. I do have a question actually.”

“Oh?” Honda-san shifted to look at the bluenette again. “What is it?”

“Exactly what kind of business is Akashi-sama in? My father was never clear about it.” Kuroko explained quickly. “I figured knowing would help me better prepare for what challenges may be ahead.”

“Ah. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised the old man didn’t say anything. Akashi-sama owns multiple businesses. Most are legal and legitimate.”

“Most?”

“He runs some that aren’t quite legal or legitimate as well. He’s more or less Yakuza. He’s connected to the underworld and affiliated with the actual Yakuza, although who works for who in that relationship is unknown.” Honda-san gave a slight chuckle. “Does that answer your question?”

“Yes sir. Thank you.” Kuroko bowed slightly and the two left the room. As the door closed behind them, they were approached by a tall man with dark green hair and matching eyes. Kuroko noted his fingers were wrapped and tensed thinking the man might be dangerous. However, Honda-san showed no sign of alarm so he relaxed.

“Honda-san? What brings you here?” The green haired man greeted.

“I’m showing Kawamura’s son and replacement around. We were just on the way to meet his co-workers.”

“Kawamura’s son? There’s no one with you.”

“He’s right….” Honda-san turned to point at Kuroko only to find the bluenette wasn’t behind him anymore. “He was just here…..”

“I’m right here.” Kuroko sighed inwardly as he brought the twos attention to him on the other side of Honda-san. Being practically invisible was usually a nice thing, but in situations like this it was just annoying.

As usual, both nearly jumped in surprise. “When did you get there?!” Midorima shouted.

“I’ve been here the whole time…..”

“Midorima-san.” Honda-san provided.

“Midorima-san.” Kuroko finished his previous statement and bowed. “I’m Kuroko Tetsuya.”

Midorima nodded as he quickly composed himself. “I’m Midorima, Akashi-samas right hand man. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise sir. I didn’t see you at the initiation last night.” Kuroko replied emotionless as ever.

The green haired man pushed his glasses up further on his nose. “I had business to attend to.”

“Well we better get moving Kuroko-san.” Honda-san reminded. Kuroko nodded and the two said their farewells to Midorima before going to the elevator.

The meeting with his fellow guards went much the same as his introduction to Midorima. None of them noticed him until he spoke up and then everyone’s faces twisted in surprise.

“Everyone, this is Kuroko Tetsuya, Kawamura’s son and replacement. Kuroko, these are the other members of Akashi’s personal team.” Honda-san introduced once everyone had settled down.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to working with you.” Kuroko bowed politely.

“Hiya! I’m Hayama! The big guy over there is Nebuya,”

“Hey.” Nebuya raised his hand in a lazy wave interrupting the orange haired man who had spoken first.

“Over there is Mibuchi or mom as we like to call him!” Hayama pointed to a man with shoulder length black hair who was sitting in a corner.

“Don’t listen to him. It’s a pleasure to meet you Kuroko-san.” Mibuchi greeted to which Kuroko nodded before Hayama continued again.

 "And that is Mauyzumi. He's a grouch." Hayama pouted as he pointed to a man with silver hair reading a book. The man grunted but made no effort to raise his eyes and greet Kuroko properly. 

“Well, I’ll leave him with you all then.” Honda-san turned to leave before calling out to Nebuya. “Akashi-sama wants you in his office at 3 P.M. Don’t be late.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nebuya waved him off and Honda-san left.

Unsure what to do, Kuroko shifted his weight awkwardly. However, before he could ask, The hyper orange haired Hayama was in front of him inspecting him from head to toe.

“So you’re Kawamura’s son huh? I guess you look a little like him…..”

“Leave the kid alone Hayama.” Mibuchi scolded. “You’ll scare him off before his first day is over with all your energy.”

“Uh…..” Kuroko tried to speak but was interrupted by Nebuya.

“Aren’t you a bit of a shrimp?”

Kuroko flinched. He didn’t like having his height criticized. “Aren’t you tall?” He retorted.

“Haha! This kid’s good!” Hayama burst out laughing and slapped Kuroko on the shoulder.

“Please stop calling me kid…” Kuroko warned.

“How old are you?”

“21.”

“Bullshit.” Nebuya cursed. “You are definitely a kid.”

“Hayama! Nebuya! Stop interrogating him. That’s not your job.” Mibuchi scolded and put a protective arm around Kuroko. “Sorry Kuro-kun. They can be a bit too nosy sometimes.”

“It’s alright.” Kuroko shrugged hiding the fact he was panicking. The fact that Nebuya had called him out on his lie had unnerved him a bit, but his face didn’t show it as usual.

Throwing a glare at the other two guards, Mibuchi led Kuroko over to a seat and gestured for him to sit before taking a seat across from him. He then began explaining the Kuroko’s job. “Of all the guards, your father was one of the ones closest to Akashi. That role is now yours. During the week, you will be expected to stick to Sei-chans side and protect and assist him. You are off on weekends unless you are requested to come in, usually for a particular deal. While your official title is body guard, there is more to your job than just standing about intimidating people or putting guns to their heads. You may be asked to help with paperwork or business deals. In short, you follow whatever orders you are given regardless of what might entail. No job is beneath you. Whether it be killing or filing papers, you do it.” Mibuchi paused and waited for Kuroko to give a sign that he was still following. Kuroko nodded and Mibuchi returned the gesture then continued. “This job takes up most of your life. The hours are long and you are expected to be available at a moments notice. Typically, you will start your day at 9 A.M. and end when you are dismissed. If your schedule is different, for instance, your day starts later one day, you will usually receive notice at least twelve hours before if not a week beforehand. Sometimes you will work with the rest of the guards, meaning me, Hayama, and Nebuya, and sometimes you will work alone. Mayuzumi doesn’t do field work by the way. He handles various jobs from base such as tracking and coordinating, so you won’t see him much. Any questions?”

“No sir. I understand.”

 “Alright then. Did Honda-san give you a tour of the place yet?” Mibuchi asked.

“No sir.”

“Then I would be happy to show you around. And don’t call sir. Just use my name.”

“Reo-senpai?” Kuroko tested.

Mibuchi sighed. “That will do for the moment. Let’s go.” He smiled and took Kuroko’s hand to pull the boy out of the chair. Once both of them were standing, he dropped Kuroko’s hand and took the lead heading out the door. Kuroko followed.

The building was quite large and intricate. It took a couple hours for them to finish the tour and afterwards Kuroko made sure to request a map so he could memorize the layout. He made sure to note that the map wasn’t entirely accurate. Well of course it wasn’t. Who would have an accurate map of the place just lying around for thieves and spies to grab? That would just be stupid. If they were that stupid, Kuroko wouldn’t be here in the first place!

Kuroko groaned at the thought suddenly wishing they were that stupid. Luckily, he had a good memory. When the others left him to go take care of something while he arranged his locker, he scribbled down the inaccuracies of the map. He would send it to headquarters later.

When the others returned, Mubuchi took him to the cafeteria and they grabbed lunch. Kuroko was delighted to find out they had vanilla milkshakes and opted to have that. As he sipped on his shake, Mibuchi filled him in on important matters.

 

The rest of the day passed quietly. Since all of Akashi’s personal guards had showed up to meet the new guy and Akashi left early for a business deal that only required one guard (the size of two guards) to accompany him, there was little to be done. He spent the remaining hours counting bullets, sharpening blades, cleaning guns, and participating in other weapons maintenance as well as dusting, which apparently was one of Mibuchi’s favorite things to do when they weren’t busy. According to Hayama, if they ever had a relaxed day, Mibuchi would drag them into some sort of cleaning mission despite the fact there was a cleaning crew for that very purpose. Kuroko was starting to understand why the black haired guard was called mom. When work ended, he said his farewells and took the train back ‘home’.

“Evening Tetsu.” Aomine greeted as he walked in the door. “Kise is still fixing dinner so go ahead and use the shower. I took mine already.”

“Thank you.” Kuroko replied before taking a quick shower. When he finished, dinner was ready on the table. Unfortunately, dinner would have to wait a few minutes. His phone (the one from the organization) was ringing. He trudged to the bedroom and answered.

“Hello?”

“Hello Kuroko.” Hanamiya’s cruel voice replied causing Kuroko to stiffen. “I have an assignment for you.”

“I’m already working on an assignment.” Kuroko reminded him quietly in confusion. Even though it was over the phone, he still flinched as if he had been hit for talking back.

“This will only take a few hours. The target is near by.”

Kuroko sighed inwardly. So much for a good nights sleep. At least it sounded like it would be a stealth mission.

“The file is in your email. I expect the absolute best. Good night.” Hanamiya concluded and hung up. Kuroko opened his laptop and checked his email.

[Target: Asahi Saburou, CEO of Asahi Corporations.]


	6. The Kill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW!!!! I'M CHANGING THE NAME OF THIS FIC TO PHANTOM REAPER!!!!!!  
> So we finally get a look at Kuroko doing his normal job! Yay.   
> Comments appreciated as always!

[Target: Asahi Saburou, CEO of Asahi Corporations.

Location: Attending a formal banquet at Shangri-la Hotel, Tokyo

Age: 58

Deadline: 8 A.M. Wednesday January 7th]

Kuroko sighed. It wasn’t a difficult assignment, just short notice. Very short notice. At least the payout was good, he noted as he scrolled to the bottom of the page. Too bad he didn’t really care about the payout. Perhaps he would share with Aomine since the tan agent had switched to the Intelligence and Support Division which paid less, he might enjoy it. Kise would just refuse it and call it blood money. Assassination didn’t quite sit well with the blond.

With another sigh, Kuroko changed into his work clothes and headed back to the kitchen where dinner was waiting.

“Aomine-kun.” He grabbed the navy-haired mans attention.

“What’s up Tetsu? Why ya dressed?” Aomine replied in his lazy manner as the three dug in to their meals.

“I need a driver. I have an assignment to take care of tonight.”

“Yeah, sure I guess.”

“Thanks.” Kuroko replied then turned to Kise who was staring at his plate with sad eyes. “Please don’t be sad Kise-kun.”

Startled, Kise’s head shot up and he tried to offer Kuroko a shaky smile. “Sorry Kurokocchi. Don’t worry bout me. I just don’t like when you have to…”

“It doesn’t bother me Kise-kun so it shouldn’t bother you.” The bluenette tried to reason even though it never worked. Unfortunately, it was the best he could give the blond.

“I know. I’m sorry….you’re just so young and it’s not right and…I’m sorry. I’ll shut up now. Could you pass the salt Aominicchi.”

“According to his ID, our Tetsu is 21 now Kise.” Aomine joked as he passed the salt.

“Are you really that dumb Aominicchi!? It’s fake.”

“I think he was just trying to cheer you up Kise-kun. He doesn’t like seeing you sad.”

“Yeah. It’s weird dude. So cheer up!”

Kise smiled. “Thank you….I think.”

With a grunt and a nod, Aomine quickly finished up his dinner and grabbed the car keys from the counter. Kuroko took a little longer to finish. Before they headed out the door, Kuroko let the blond give him a hug. It was awkward since Kuroko never hugged back, but that’s how it usually worked before Kuroko left on assignments. Once Kise pulled away and ruffled his hair, which he also didn’t try to avoid, the two blue haired agents left the apartment.

“So, what’s the payout? Better be good for such short notice.”

“A little over five mil. (about 44000 U.S. dollars).” Kuroko replied uninterested as usual.

Aomine whistled. It was a nice amount for single kill, although he didn’t know who the target was. “What’s your percent?”

“Forty-eight percent.”

“So 2,400,000? Score!”

“You’re the only one who cares about payout Aomine-kun.”

“It’s more like you’re the only one who doesn’t.”

“Could you drop me off there?” Kuroko pointed to the corner up ahead. It was a bit of a walk to the hotel but he preferred it that way.

Aomine shrugged and pulled up to the curb. “This good?”

“Yeah. I’ll text you when I’m done. Shouldn’t take too long.”

“Take your time. Take these with you too!” He threw what looked like a pair of sun glasses to Kuroko. They were actually night vision glasses and Kuroko thanked him before darting off.

Using his ability to tone down is presence till he barely had any and making use of his misdirection skill, Kuroko slipped into the five star hotel easily. He found a map of the building and memorized it. Next he needed to find out what room Asahi was staying in, another easy task. Since he was practically invisible, it was easy for him to slip behind the front desk and insert a chip into one of the computers not being used, and wait for the information to download. Once it did, he headed to one of the mechanical rooms and pulled out his phone to insert the chip. Code covered the screen until he typed a few codes of his own into the keypad and the list of rooms and occupants showed up. He scrolled down the list till he reached room 438 with the name Asahi Corporation across from it.

“Too easy.” He muttered to himself. “At least use a false name.”

With a disappointed shake of his head at the CEO’s foolishness, he pocketed his phone and stepped out of the room. As he made his way to the stairs, he pondered his approach. He was probably small enough to fit through the air ducts and that would be the best way to avoid possible conflicts, but if the ducts narrowed out, it wouldn’t work. Posing as room service meant announcing his presence and drawing attention to himself. If there were no guards, it wouldn’t be a big deal. If there were, he might have to kill them and he didn’t like killing those who weren’t targets if he could avoid it. If there were guards, he might be able to cause some sort of disturbance to draw them out, but only if they were inside the room. When they opened the door, he could slip inside and take care of the target. It wouldn’t work if there were no guards or the guards were outside the room though. He could wait till someone opened the door, but if no one opened the door before 8 A.M. the mission would be considered a failure and that was no good. This is why he didn’t like short notice assignments. All the planning had to be done in the moment and on site and there was no room for mess ups or time to learn the targets behavior pattern.

By the time he reached the second floor, he made a decision and stepped out of the stairwell and into the hallway. According to the map, there was a security room behind the maintenance closet on the second floor. Security rooms mean access to security cameras. Slipping inside the door without the sleeping guard noticing was easy as was the rest of the trick. He simply slipped the chip card into the computer and waited for it to download access to the cameras before slipping out again.

According to the cameras, there was only one guard and he was posted outside the room. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it made his choice of action easy. Minimizing the camera views on his screen, he opened his text messages. Clicking on Kise’s contact, he typed out a quick message.

[To: Kise-kun

Message: Can you get me a map of Shanri-la Hotel’s air ducts?]

About five minutes later he checked the reply and found a diagram attached. He typed a quick thank you before taking a closer look. According to the diagram, he should be able to reach the room through the ducts.

After checking the hallway, he slipped out and made his way to the mechanical room on the fourth floor for access to the vent. The mechanical room was just a little ways down the hall from the room and the perfect spot for a smoke bomb in case he needed a distraction. He placed the miniature capsule just outside the door and proceeded into the room and the ducts. Surprisingly, the vents were pretty clean. He put on the glasses to see better and crawled till he reached room 438 and peered through the vent in the corner of the room.

As expected, Asahi-sama was alone. Kuroko checked his watch. It was almost 10 P.M. His target should be settling down for sleep soon which would be the best time to strike. So, he settled into a more comfortable position and waited. After almost an hour, he was about ready to change the plan when the lights finally went out and Asahi took to the bed for the night. After another half hour passed, Kuroko sent Aomine a quick text to be ready at the pick-up spot then loosened the vent cover as quietly as possible. He checked the vent to make sure he wasn’t leaving anything behind before jumping and rolling with barely a sound.

Once on the ground he froze and waited for any sign that he was heard or noticed but there was none. Satisfied, he pulled out a sharp blade and made his way over to the bed. The deed was quick. He sliced his targets throat without even the slightest bit of hesitation and wrapped his blade in a cloth before sticking it back in his pocket. He snapped a picture for proof then checked the camera that covered the area outside of the room. It would be impractical to try to exit through the vent but he couldn’t just walk through the door either, not without a distraction.

Making sure he could see the guard on the camera, he clicked the button on a remote in his pocket setting off the smoke bomb outside the mechanical room. As expected, it caught the guards attention and the guard ran towards the commotion leaving the door unguarded. Kuroko typed a code into his phone which effectively shut the cameras off in that area of the building and slipped out the room.

It was easy. No one paid him any mind. Two security guards rushed past him and never even saw him. He was a phantom.

He escaped the building without any trouble and calmly made his way to the pick-up point and hopped in the car.

“You have some blood on you.” Aomine informed him as they drove off.

“I’ll take another shower.” He replied without interest. Pulling out his phone, he sent the picture of Asahi’s corpse to his boss as proof of the mission being fulfilled and leaned against the door tiredly.

“Just don’t let Kise see….”

“Hai. I won’t.”

“I take it the assignment is complete.”

“Of course. Now please let me rest. I’m tired.”

“Yeah yeah. Good work.”

“Hmm.” Kuroko hummed and let his eyes close. He felt nothing except the sleep clawing at the edges of his consciousness. Like every other kill, it meant nothing to him. Just a job. Just a business transaction. Taking a life didn’t make even a dent in the numbness he felt daily. All he felt was tired as he drifted off to sleep.


End file.
